Henri Kling and the Valved Horn in the Late Nineteenth
Century

Comments from an important
teacher

John Ericson

This article is an updating of materials published in The
Horn Call Annual 4 (1992).

Henri Kling (1842-1918) was born in Paris but grew up in
Carlsruhe, where he studied with the virtuoso hornist Jacob Dorn.
Kling was a man of wide interests, which included composition and
conducting. He spent most of his career in Geneva, where he was
professor of horn and solfège at the Geneva
Conservatory from 1865 until his death [Morley-Pegge,
164].

Kling's Horn-Schule was, according to his obituary, first
published in 1865 [Saenger, 41]. However, the work was not
listed in Hofmeister's Handbuch until the 1874-79 edition
(vol. 8 [Leipzig, 1881]), indicating a possibly later date of
original publication. In any event, the Horn-Schule is
musically progressive, beginning with easy études and moving
to difficult études and orchestral excerpts. In general,
Kling's commentary is very practical. The most interesting comments
are those intended to set right certain misconceptions about the horn
and its technique in his time.

Kling believed strongly that students should begin on the natural
horn to develop a true concept of tone.

In order to obtain a thorough mastery in horn playing, it
is extremely advisable to begin with the study of the Natural
Horn, for the purpose of acquiring the true quality of tone
characteristic of the instrument and which is attained by but a
few hornists. They generally treat the instrument as though it
were a Cornet à pistons or a trombone, thereby depriving it
of its genuine character [Kling, Schule, I].

Fingering charts for both the natural and valved horns are not
given until pages 21-23 of the method; the opening sections are
devoted to the open tones of the natural horn. The majority of the
method is playable on the natural horn; only the "Six grand Preludes"
are specifically for the valved horn [Kling, Schule,
81]. The fingerings and hand positions given by Kling generally
follow standard practices; one interesting exception for the valved
horn is that written A-flat in the top two octaves of the horn's
range is fingered with the first valve alone (with the fingering
using the second and third valves given as an alternate). This
fingering tends to be flat, but it avoids the longer second and third
combination, which may not be as consistent in tone color and
response. This choice could also represent a remnant of the technique
of the two-valved horn.

Kling goes to some effort to emphasize the importance of the
placement of the hand in the bell. It seems that many hornists, now
that they had valves, saw little point to putting a hand in the
bell.

The position of the right hand in the bell of the
instrument should be regulated strictly in accordance with the
instructions contained in this "School," albeit by the great
majority of hornists in the present day this important particular
is entirely ignored--one of the reasons, indeed, for the
increasing scarcity of competent horn players. . . .

The accuracy of tone-production, as well as the proper holding
of the hand in the bell of the instrument, impart to the horn its
distinctive charm, which consists of a truly melodious and
sympathetic tone [Kling, Schule, 76]

Kling's most interesting points relating to technique involve
transposition and crooks. While he did briefly explain transposition,
he did not recommend it as a means toward playing everything on the F
crook. Kling very much favored using crooks on the valved horn. For
simple transpositions in keys lower than F, Kling showed how one
could think in terms of the valves making the crook changes
[Kling, Schule, 28]. However, in the following passage
he stated very definitely that he favored using the requested crooks
in keys higher than F.

The assertion, which has been absurdly made in recent
times, that the use of the crooks in connection with the ventil
[valve] horn should be discontinued, as being absolutely
useless, since everything could be transposed on the F-horn, is
not worth serious consideration. Hornists who follow such
mischievous advice by attempting to transpose all passages on the
F horn will find themselves frequently coming to grief and
exposing themselves to the ridicule of the audience. I advise the
employment of the G, A, and high B-flat crooks whenever these are
indicated by the composer. By their aid, the passages will be
rendered with greater ease, more clearly and with truer tone than
when they are transposed on the F horn [Kling, Schule,
77].

Kling then cites several examples from the orchestral literature
to prove his point. The following examples are given from the
Symphony No. 2 in D major (1802--mvt. 2, mm. 250-258, abridged) of
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with explanatory comments by
Kling.

Symphony in D major, easily playable with the A crook:

Transposed on the F horn, it presents great difficulties,
particularly to the first horn:

Kling later wrote a book on orchestration (published in 1882
[this is an update of the date printed in the published version
of this article]), Modern Instrumentation and
Orchestration, which explained some of his ideas on crooks in
greater depth.

The Chromatic Horns in F, E, and E-flat sound to best
advantage. If employed at all, it is advisable to use only the
open or natural tones of those in C, D, . . . G-flat, G, A, B
flat, and B high [sic], as the notes produced upon these
by means of the valves are never absolutely in tune [Kling, Orchestration, 127. The ellipses in this quotation mark the
omission of an apparent misprint in this passage].

While advocating the use of crooks, Kling recognized that the
valve slides may not be long or short enough to be properly adjusted
for some crooks. The slides can be adjusted perfectly for F, E, or
E-flat. Other crooks should be used if required musically, but the
tuning must be carefully monitored.

Kling, along with many composers and great teachers of the natural
horn, was very concerned with the tone colors of the crooks. This
notion of different tone colors due to the use of varied crooks
seemed to have been fading in his time, and Kling reacted to it.

The majority of Horn-players as well as some orchestral
conductors are of the opinion that the application of crooks upon
the Valve Horns or Trumpets is unnecessary and nonsensical; that
this opinion is totally wrong is proven by the great difference in
tonal-quality produced by the different crooks, some affecting the
instrument so as to sound thin and weak, and others to sound
bright and brilliant. In this manner Mozart, in his wonderful G
Minor Symphony, has written the two Horn parts for differently
pitched instruments; it must not be imagined that their employment
in this manner was due to any accident or caprice, but because he
wished to produce a specially bright-sounding tonal-quality. . . .

The modern Horn-player who uses nothing but the F Horn
naturally fails to produce this peculiar tonal-quality which
cannot possibly be produced in as bright and brilliant a manner
upon this instrument as upon the originally prescribed B-flat and
G Horns [Kling, Orchestration, 127].

Another performing technique advocated by Kling is explained in
his Twenty-five Studies and Preludes, which were published in
1881 and dedicated to Friedrich Gumpert (1841-1906), professor at the
Leipzig Conservatory [Bracegirdle, 23. See also Gumpert
or Gumbert?]. In twelve of these studies Kling marked
sections of the music to be performed using one fingering and some
right hand technique, in some cases adding other valves in these
passages as well, rather than using the standard valve horn
fingerings. This technical idea resembled one advocated by J.-R. Lewy
in his études [see the article, Works of J. R. Lewy,
coming soon], but it required no special notation using multiple
transpositions. The explanation and examples given in the "General
Remarks" which preface these studies clearly show his intention.

The passages over which valve numbers are printed (e.g.,
1, 2, 3, 1-2, 2-3) should each be played totally on the natural
horn that is created by the use of that valve combination, plus
the help of the stopped tones where they are shown with the +
sign. This way these seemingly difficult passages are easy to
play. The following passage:

played completely on the 2nd valve, sounds as if it were
written for the E-crook, and played on the natural horn in E.
Example:

Examples from Kling, Twenty-five Studies and Preludes, p.
III.

Kling was not merely asking for alternate fingerings here. He
wanted the student to use hand-horn technique whenever possible to
simplify the execution of difficult passages.

Kling's technique of using crooks on the valved horn has its
merits. This technique makes a lot of sense for a player trained on
the natural horn, as were most hornists in the nineteenth century, in
performing pieces from any period written using crooks other than the
F crook on the valved horn. Not all hornists in the period followed
Kling's advice, using the F crook and transposing instead of using
multiple crooks. Some composers in this period, however, still
intended for players to use multiple crooks rather than transpose in
performing their compositions. Performers such as Henri Kling held
staunchly to their natural-horn roots and clearly retained some
aspects of that instrument in their performing and teaching in the
late nineteenth century.

SOURCES

Lee Bracegirdle, "The New York School; Its Development and its
Relationship with the Viennese Style," The Horn Call 14, no. 2
(April 1984), 23.